Nancy, if you want to grow the originals just grow Aker's West Virginia with RL foliage for Linda's Faux and Brandywine for Earl's Faux.

Terri, I love your Peron Strayless, it's actually Sprayless, which it isn't anyway, but I love another one as well, and that's b'c Glenn Drowns at Sandhill called me last night and said that two pages in the tomato section of the paper catalog got messed up but he knew I'd be pleased since he knows I don't like the variety Sandpoint and one of the goofs is that it got printed at Sandpit. LOL

Linda's Faux is a Potato leaf version of Akers West Virgina which is RL. Earls Faux is a Potato leaf version of Red Brandywine which is RL. They are mutations of the original variety. Spudatula and Spudakee purple are PL mutations of Black from Tula and Cherokee purple as well. Production, size and taste can vary between the RL and PL versions depending on what caused the mutation. KBX and Kellogs Breakfast are another example. Ami

Shoe, I was up at 4 AM b/c I woke up and more to the point I posted my annual seed offer elsewhere Thursday and was being deluged with requests where they e-mail me and I reply with my home address, so there. So I was up from 4 to 6 AM doing that and then went back to bed.LOL

Tennis from Australia in another week, thank heavens.

Ami, I'm standing by my story of Earl's Faux being Brandywine, not a PL mutant of Red Brandywine. If it were a PL mutant of RB it would still have the fruit shape and color of RB if it were a spontaneous mutation, but it doesn't, it's pink and beefsteak shaped. Yes, Earl received it as RB, that I know. ( smile)

Well, all I can say is that I didn't expect to have a tomato named after me and it's exciting. Please don't make any negative comments unless you want me to cry! I'm a sensitive sort.

I started 20 Aker's West Virginia seeds from Sand Hill and 3 of them grew out PL. I thought about "killing" them because I didn't know what they were, but they were so healthy I just couldn't do it. I actually liked the taste better and they produced as well as the RL AWV so I saved seeds. Over the last 3 years they have produced the same PL plant ........except last year.

One of them grew out to be a dwarf plant with dwarf tomatoes!! The one good thing about it was that all that great tomato flavor seemed to concentrate in those little goofy-looking fruits and it had fantastic flavor. The plant seemed to be a normal size until a while after I planted it. It probably didn't get over 18 inches tall. The fruits were about the size of Pink Ping Pong but were more ruffled.

I am sending a few of the dwarf seeds to Ami so both of us can grow them out to see what we get.

I really appreciate Ami for sending the seeds to Gleckler's. Linda's Faux, alias Aker's West Virginia PL is a great tasting tomato with great production. As Ami explained, the PL does taste a little better to me than the original.

As Ami explained, the PL does taste a little better to me than the original.

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Linda, has that taste difference been consistent?

And why do I ask?

There are several ways that an RL variety can become PL.

If it's a spontaneous single mutation than all else is the same about the variety except for the leaf form.

But there are other ways that an RL can become a PL due to changes in the DNA that have names like looping out, repeat sequences, inversions, and more.

And when that happens more than one gene can be affected, even taste genes.

An example is the following:

There's Spudakee Bill Malin, PL CP), Cherokee Purple Potato Leaf ( Jere Gettle) and Cherokee Purple, the original ( Craig LeHoullier, RL). And there are those who have grown all three in the same season and don't see them as being equivalent, meaning the two PL's being the same as the original CP, and there are a few who say thay seem to be the same.

Just something to think about

And the fact that you're now getting a dwarf variety suggests to me that what you got initially from Sandhill could well have been the result of a natural cross pollination. or maybe the dwarf resulted from a X pollination that occurred in your own garden? Several possibilities but I read you to say you were sowing seed form the PL Aker's WV that you'd saved in successive years. Right?

About naming a variety after oneself. I wouldn't do it either although some do. The variety Dr. Carolyn was named by Steve Draper and the Dr. Carolyn Pink was named by an SSE member who sent the seeds to me, although it was I who got what Steve named Dr. Carolyn form saved Galina seeds, and I gave it a working name of Ivory Mutant. LOL

I didn't name it after myself. I didn't know Ami was going to send seeds to Gleckler's, but I am excited that he did. I'm not sure if Ami or Gleckler's named it Linda's Faux. If "Earl" can find an odd ball plant in his garden and it becomes named "Earl's Faux", I guess it's legal to have a "Linda's Faux."

The PL version tastes better to me and it has been consistent.

I don't know what to think of the dwarf, but it was great. As far as I know, all the other AWV PL seeds I started grew normal sized tomatoes. I started a lot of them and gave them away.

The three PL plants I got in the beginning of this saga came directly from Sand Hill. When I liked the PL plants better I started saving my own seeds.

I'm kinda new here at DG, and very new at growing tomatos. Growing tomatos for me is another story entirely for another thread some day.

I just went to Gleckler's today and couldn't actually tell that they had added the 2011 listing, so I'll look again.

I just had to comment that whenever I see the word "dwarf" I get palpitations because dwarfs are so suited to my garden. I have a few I'm growing this year. I hope the grow out goes well for you! New Big Dwarf is one I am growing this next year as well as Polish Dwarf, another couple, and some semi-indets., too. I am so thrilled NBD has tomatos larger than a cherry size, or even a 2-3 oz size. That's what I am looking for in a dwarf - tomatos ranging from 6 oz. and larger on a dwarf plant. Kinda hard to find because they seem to be few and far between.

Sphinxmama48. Sophies Choice is another very good container choice. Very early and tasty red tomatoes (described as orangey on the outside and deep red interiors). If you are interested in green when ripe tomatoes, Lime green salad is a wonderful flavor, but not particularly large, more in the 3 ou size. I'm trying Mountain Princess this year for the first time due to favorable reviews here on Dave's. I grew lots of indeterminates in containers last year, after making a framework out of 1 inch pvc pipe. It worked well for me.

I have seeds for both of those, too - Sophie's Choice and Mountain Princess. Also have Bush Goliath, Polish Dwarf, Purple Hillbilly (Pink), Polish Pastel, Early Rouge, Rosa Vetrov, Utyonok, and Boloto. Some are dwarf and some are semi-dets.

I am really excited about this coming year, but we are expecting drought, in light of the continuing La Nina pattern. At least in containers, I tend to better watch the plants and take care of their needs as quickly as possible. I tend to either overwater or underwater in-ground plants.

That was just a working name Nancy and when I sent it to Steve Draper I think I sent it as Ivory Mutant and renamed it Dr. Carolyn without telling me. He was having the same instability with Galina;s Yellow as I was.

And to this day I have no idea what happened genetically when I planted the saved seeds from Galina that led to Dr. Carolyn, then Dr. Carolyn pink, then Green Doctors and then Green Doctors Frosted.

Whatever it was genetically there are some great varieties that came of it.

Carolyn, and just for those who are curious about the variety name Sophie's Choice, the seeds were sent to me by Barry Comdon of CA who got them from a lady friend who got them from someone in Edmonton, Canada. I asked Barry to name the variety but he asked the woman who gave him the seeds and it was she who named it Sophie's Choice. Many folks have asked me how that name came about.

Ami named Akers West Virginia PL "Linda's Faux". I have it listed in Dave's Plant Files. I named it prior to sending seed to Adam Gleckler for him to trial for this years catalog. Evidently he was quite impressed with the variety saying it was in his "Top Ten" and is listing it at his site this year. So basically I let Adam make the call on this variety.
Susan Anderson "Suze" grew out Linda's Faux in 2010 and called it a "Great PL Red".

So for you folks that do try Linda's Faux this year make a comment on it in the plant files. I also posted 2 pictures of the fruit in the plant file listing as well. Ami

Susan, Tania lists it as Spudatula Black whereas Adam lists it as Spudatula and the SSE Yearbook also lists it as Spudatula Black. I've known it just as Spudatula.

The basic traits were given at Tania's site, as in indet, PL, as well as at Glecklers site with pictures shown at both sites,

And impressions of the variety were given at Tania's site as well.

There are only two folks who list it in the 2010 Yearbook, and one is quoted at Tania's site and days to maturity are given as about 75-80 days making it a late midseason variety and taste comments are excellent and superb by the two folks listing it.But there many more at different message sites who have grown it and as I recall, like it very much.

I grew Spudatula in a 7 gal container and it was a tomato machine the whole season. Taste was up there with the other top blacks and had no disease problems. Glecker's seed source was me for the variety and I received my seeds from Tomtrees who in turn got his from Spudleafwillie aka Bill Malin. Ami

Thanks for the input. I might add that Gleckler's reflects it as one of their top 6 or so tomatos for 2010. So that says something for your friend, Ami!

I guess a 7 gal. container was large enough for this indeterminate? I was planning to use anywhere from 15 to 25 gal. containers for the few indeterminates I plan to grow. I need to order more Sunleaves.

Appreciate everyone's comments. I think, Carolyn, that it may be a mid-season here in Oklahoma?

Congrats Linda on having a tomato named after you, very cool. Do you think it will do well in my area? I have AWV on my list so I could swap it out.

I have to admit I haven't kept up with the forums well due to the relocation so when IO1 suggested Gleckler's I didn't have a clue. BUT she said it had the Carolyn's stamp of approval so we gave it a try. Don't know about germination yet but the customer service part has been stellar. I had already placed an order before they updated but seems I'll have to go back and do another since they added a few more blacks. Although where I'll plant them I have no idea. Only have space for 26 and so far I have 33 on my list. I've made my TGS, Baker's Creek and Gleckler's order so I should be set ...but you know how it is..always have to have just one more

lol dare I ask what your up to now? I have my hands full with the 26 I have room for..DH would kill me if I wanted to expand.

I'm waiting for I01 to finish walking her baby and then I'll place the Geckler order. Have yours in the basket. I can't see we would have an issue since AWV does fine for me. Not my heaviest producer but taste is good enough to still plant. Since I have an whole new set of neighbors to break in I'm looking forward to seeing their reaction to some of my favorite blacks. So many people only know what a store bought or The Early/Better boys & girls taste like so can't wait till they taste some REAL tomatoes!

Saint, there are several seed sites that I guess have my stamp of approval, but Glecklers, yes, for a very special reason.

Adam Gleckler's grandfather started that seed business back in the 40's and then it passed to Adam's father who also grew bulk amounts for TGS and other commercial sites as well as having a small but very interesting public catalog. I started growing Heirloom tomatoes in the summer of 1983 and the Gleckler and Jan Blum catalogs were the only two places where at that time there was a great selection. I then joined SSE in 1989 and shortly before that SESE and TGS and heirloom seeds put up their websites.

it was just two years ago that someone saw that Glecklers was back in business which I found exciting b/c they'd gone out of business in 1994. I ASAP contacted Adam and cutting to the chase about two years I ago I put up a thread at Tville asking if others could contribute seeds to Adam, concentrating on the rare, harder to get varieties, and ami was one of many who contributed some great varieties.

Then last year I contacted those from that list privately to ask if they had other varieties they could donate and ami was on that list as well.

In the meantime others were also sending some great varieties to Adam for trial and that makes it even more exciting to me personally since I had talked with Adam's father several times in the early 90's as well as after they went out of business and I wanted to see them do well. Adam's father is still there for advice and Adam himself was helping his father when he was a wee kid.

And Adam has called me almost every two weeks for a long time, whether it's about varieties out in the field or how to handle overseas requests and much more. he and his wife Ellie are two wonderful folks and Ami knows that as well.

Ami has posted about the Gleckler's 2011 update at several sites and by now I think Ami and I might be called the PR Team. LOL

And great PR it is..I just received an email from Ellie (within the hour of my placing an order) to confirm my order as well as to tell me my previous order had already shipped so this would be a separate mailing, so this was no computer generated mass mailing. Great customer service and if germination is good they will become one of my go to websites for seeds. I love TGS, easy to navigate website and almost 100% germination has made a huge fan but given their size the can not ship as quickly nor charge as little for shipping as Gleckler's. *G* I've asked Ellie not to add more seeds this year to the website or the DH might just kill me! But how can you resist a tomato called Spudatula???

Just a heads up. There will be an late addition to Gleckler's selections. It's a cherry/grape tomato named "Val's Red Nibbler". The working name was Guernsey Pink Blush #3 (Red) that was a segregation from the original Guernsey Island Pink Blush and one of 3 reds Dan McMurray grew out and stabilized with his wife Val. Val passed away last year due to cancer and he named it in her honer. It was the first to ripen in my garden in 2009 and Dan described the taste as (Dipped in Honey). "Coastal Pride Orange" also listed at Gleckler's is another variety from Dan McMurray.

I ordered seeds from Gleckler before they updated their website. They must have been out of New Big Dwarf because I ended up getting it from TGS, but I did get KBX and Prue on someone's recommendation. Also got Yellow Submarine, Whippersnapper, Dwarf Stone and Goose Creek.

How many folks from the two sites Dan posted at requested the #3 Red I don't know but probably wasn't too many. He never did sell or offer his Guernsey Red grow outs to the general public. Adam grew 30 plants from the seed I sent him and they were all identical to what I got in my grow out in 2009. Ami

Well haven't received my second Glecker order but went ahead and started my seeds without since I am sooo far behind. Won't take me just a sec to start the three seeds I have ordered, and I'm sure they will come in this week.

I refuse to even look at the site, or others for that matter cause I'm afraid of finding something else I want and I have NO MORE ROOM!